“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” John 18:36

“But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:16-17‬ ‭ASV‬‬
http://bible.com/12/gal.5.16-17.asv

This is a hard concept to grasp, remember and implement. It shouldn’t be, but it is. Especially in our world today.

Remember the saying ‘They are too Heavenly minded to be of any earthly good’? For some reason this phrase has been haunting my mind lately. When I think about it, this can be used for many different  reasons. A religious person trying to follow all the rules might be in this category. Or maybe a religious person being very judgmental on others telling them what they must do or not do. Or maybe a religious person who lives careless and free of any worldly responsibilities. Or…fill in the blank. But I’m not so sure any of these types can truly be what is truly ‘heavenly’ minded. I’ve been accused of being a very religious person. And to be honest, I use to be just that. But now I’m sort of offended if someone calls me religious. No, I’m definitely not ashamed of being a Christian!! And definitely not ashamed of my Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ! But to me religious means a person caught up in rules, traditions, man made actions. To me, being religious means to give religion the glory and honor, not God. I’ve always been an odd one, and I’ll be the first to admit it. Before becoming a Christian, I always felt it was important to be obedient to God. I knew Him, felt Him, and yearned for Him. After becoming a Christian I felt even a deeper pull to God. But I felt odd in both worlds. Before I became a Christian, I was simply a good person to the world, now I’m a “freak” with religion. But on the religious side I was often viewed as “worldly”. Not to everyone, but I felt it quite a bit among the “religious” crowd.

It gets confusing at times, and it shouldn’t. I, we, tend to make it harder than it needs to be. Love others and judge not, can be used in many wrong ways. But the simple childlike faith Jesus talks about, the simple love others Jesus talks about, that’s what it’s all about. Why do we think we need to tell others how to be. Why do we feel we know what’s best for others? Aren’t we to rest in God, let Him handle the problems in our lives and in others? Aren’t we to do everything to give God honor and glory? Aren’t we to take care of our own sins? I don’t want to get into a debate here, I realize there is a time and place for judgment, accountability, to call our fellow brothers and sisters out when needed. But, I can’t help feeling that if we focus more on our relationship with Christ, our love for others, that when the time for accountability and instruction comes, we will be able to do so in love and authority through Christ. And to clairify any misunderstanding, I’m not talking about a watered down gospel and I’m not talking about compromising anything. I’m talking a genuine relationship with God through Jesus Christ who died for our sins so we could have fellowship with God and spend eternity with Him in heaven. I’m talking about real, genuine, down to earth Christians. If we, Children of God are truly “Heavenly minded”, we will be so earthly good, people will know we serve an Awesome God! To God be all glory and honor! For He alone is Holy!!!